Is pet-sitting in demand? (Missoula, Great Falls: day care, home, public schools) - City-Data Forum

heavy_heart · 01-13-2010, 07:46 AM

I'm on Cape Cod, Massachusetts (born and raised) and where I live, many people would rather hire a pet-sitter to come to their home than board their pet in a kennel. I was wondering if it's the same in Montana, specifically Great Falls. I'm currently pet-sitting and I would love to have my own (very) small pet-sitting business. But I also wanted to head out to Great Falls where my cousins are to see if there are any worth-while jobs for me. So...

1) Is there any kind of demand for pet-sitting (not just dogs)?

2) Are there dog daycares?

Rickers · 01-13-2010, 08:01 AM

It's hard for me to believe that a person can make a decent living as a pet sitter in great falls. People in this part of Montana don't really have the kind of money that folks seem to have in Ma.
I could be totally wrong as I often am though.

heavy_heart · 01-13-2010, 08:42 AM

Okay! That kind of helps me with my decision then. I mean, my cousins have said that minimum wage is lower there and everything, but I wanted to ask around to be sure. If I'm not going out there to try and start up a business, I still want to go visit my cousins anyway. So I'll get to see what it's like. People from here who have gone out there have said it's a huuuuge culture shock.

LoveBoating · 01-13-2010, 09:00 AM

That is definitely true (in red below)! Montana, like Wyoming and surrounding States, are made up of tons of farms and ranches. They are definitely WESTERN, no doubt about that!! Montana is known as "Big Sky Country" for a darn good reason, just as Wyoming is known as "the Cowboy State". Both States have wide-open areas and lots of cattle/horses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by heavy_heart

Okay! That kind of helps me with my decision then. I mean, my cousins have said that minimum wage is lower there and everything, but I wanted to ask around to be sure. If I'm not going out there to try and start up a business, I still want to go visit my cousins anyway. So I'll get to see what it's like. People from here who have gone out there have said it's a huuuuge culture shock.

Redraven · 01-13-2010, 01:38 PM

Hmmm...
If you know how to care for horses, I might have a job for you for a week or so, once or twice during the summer.
You will have to be bonded and insured, though, to live in my house, and I am about 250 miles from Great Falls.
You would have 2 horses, 3 outdoor cats, 2 indoor cats, and one or two dogs to care for.

grizzfan · 01-13-2010, 03:34 PM

In Missoula, perhaps elsewhere, they have this dog-sitting outfit called "Go Fetch". They drive around in short school buses all painted up and pick your dog up at a convenient time and drop him off. The dogs sit around in the bus looking out the windows and it's quite humerous to see. I have no idea what it costs for this service but they seem to be very busy with several buses in the fleet going around town all day long.

Reziac · 01-13-2010, 04:27 PM

I would guess it's about $25/day, that's about the going rate for 'doggie day care' (with or without pickup/delivery) and I know the one near Bozeman charges that.

I'd also guess there's no market for this level of service/price outside of the rapidly-growing yuppified areas.. which are probably sufficient to keep one or two such outfits in business. It is very expensive in terms of personnel needed, as compared to a boarding kennel. (Or for that matter, compared to investing in a month of obedience school and a fenced yard. In this pro dog trainer's opinion, it's a lot like delegating raising your kids to the public schools and the TV.)

grizzfan · 01-13-2010, 05:28 PM

Reziac says:

Quote:

(Or for that matter, compared to investing in a month of obedience school and a fenced yard. In this pro dog trainer's opinion, it's a lot like delegating raising your kids to the public schools and the TV.)

Yes, I suppose the dogs don't fare any better than kids in daycare or government schools; but it's a total hoot to see these buses go by with all these pooches sitting up straight looking out the windows or straight ahead! They appear to be better behaved than kids on a school bus! But, then again, they are dogs and they are better than kids.

Reziac · 01-13-2010, 06:14 PM

I expect all the dogs are clipped to their seats by a short leash, and have learned to sit still because otherwise they fall off the seat and wind up dangling uncomfortably. Nothing teaches good behaviour quite as well as immediate negative consequences.

Fiddlehead · 01-13-2010, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grizzfan

Reziac says:

Yes, I suppose the dogs don't fare any better than kids in daycare or government schools; but it's a total hoot to see these buses go by with all these pooches sitting up straight looking out the windows or straight ahead! They appear to be better behaved than kids on a school bus! But, then again, they are dogs and they are better than kids.

Thanks for the laugh! What a funny image.

I think I will chime in that pet sitting is one of those big city jobs, like "food stylist," that would probably be lost in translation in the rural West. My wife was just telling me this week that someone in New York or Boston or something like that was clearing $100k doing pet sitting. So a decent living. I do know that San Francisco supposedly has more dogs than kids now. That floored me, but should not have if I had thought about it a bit. Not that there is anything wrong with that...